A mild breeze swayed the shrubs against her cheek. Genesis groaned gently as her vision peripherals rebooted. Lines of code popped one after another at a nanosecond scale. Her interface overlay–the neuralface–took form. She slowly opened her eyes. Her optics adjusted to its optimal resolution and gradually resolved the grain noises. Light gray skies greeted her. It reminded her of Dusty Peak, home. Whenever winter was close, the grayscale of their skies always adjusted to somewhere near white. A drizzle usually followed. Genesis knew it well because it was the time of the year that she had always looked forward to. She would run out to a nearby ridge, in defiance of her father’s prohibitions, to feel the wet rain on her synthetic skin. It refreshed her and gave her solitude. Whoever came up with the grain-moisture management and disposal installation was a genius. Along with the other particle-repellent components, soaking was no longer equal to malfunction for Androids.

Genesis saw dots falling toward her as she kept lying on the ground. The onslaught against the Terran Vindicators had made death hang closer than her power core. She heard no cracking gunshots nor the thundering kinetic energy release of artillery shells. Perhaps she was dead. This was likely one of those tranquil moments between the time of her demise and the moment she came back to life. She should return anytime now. But before that, she wanted to appreciate the respite that visited her. The occasion rarely occurred and she could always use one. Genesis remained still in lethargy. She was presented with the sight of her lost home. And she was about to feel the cold wet rain of Dusty Peak once more. Genesis closed her eyes again.

But what hit her wasn’t water moisture. They were coarse particles that upset her facial skin. She reopened her eyes, bugged by burnt smells caught by her tactile and olfactory peripherals. The scent came with each particle that fell on her. Her sense-based multiclass classification neuromodule identified that they were 83.221% volcanic ashes. There was no relevant data to compare them to in her repository. She attempted to browse the Interset through her neuralface, but there was no connection.

The fact that she could run all those processes told her that she wasn’t in between life and death. She was alive. She just realized now that there was something suspending her head, a helmet. Genesis reached for it. Her uniform was still on her. Even her protection gear was still stuck to her body. Genesis rose while giving her hand a perplexed look. She slapped herself once. She felt that. Genesis was even more confused at how the grasses she was on were purple. The maid raised her gaze and looked around. The trees were twisted with pink crowns that were similar to those found in the Asahi Archipelago. Intermixed among them were light-brown fungi with a beige trunk. The mushrooms were as bulky as the trees but not as tall.

“Charlotte!” Genesis shouted. Her voice reverberated through the vacant alien forest. “Captain Edelweiss! Captain Fort!” She kept on mentioning her comrades and higher-ups. Genesis then stood up. “Caitlyn!”

There was no response.

Genesis noticed her power carbine lying amidst the grasses. She picked it up and checked the mag. It was full. She loaded it back and reached for her pouches sticking on her composite armor. The last four months brought something new to the Proxies. Previously she had to wear the lightweight version of the composite armor. It was specifically made for the Maid Section. They had a shield projector protecting them, but that was not enough. Genesis had first-hand experience getting her gut blown off by a Telve rifle-launched grenade when that projector went off. Hence, the Maid Section switched to wearing the standard-issued armor too. It was also likely that the state wanted to uniformize the Proxies’ equipment. For now, she was grateful that she was better protected. Even though she could escape death, hazards that didn’t kill her would still inflict pain. She disliked that.

Her pouches were all filled with magazines. Every Maid personnel was only allowed four magazines as they were mostly non-combatant. But Android Maids like Genesis were stuffed with ten simply because they were stronger and thus expected to perform in combat. Genesis could feel her sidearm in her holster, along with its five magazines. Her waist pack–designed to be the largest compared to all other Proxies to accommodate more supplies–was strangely empty. Her tactical shovel was strapped to it while her thermal bayonet resided across her sidearm. Genesis doubted that there were any ammunition depots around. Once she ran out of bullets, her only options to defend herself were either shovel, bayonet, or both.

Genesis took one gentle step forward. She brushed the purple grasses aside with her feet and tapped on the ground repeatedly. It was pretty unfortunate for her that the grasses were tall enough to hide anti-personnel mines. She proceeded with caution while activating a supporting overlay to help her spot disturbances in the ground.

“Scientia!” Genesis shouted. If there were any Proxies around, they would return with ‘Victrix!’ once. But there was no response. “Alright, guys I give up. You win.” She continued as she slowly navigated the forest. “Guys? Charlotte!? Caitlyn!? Anybody!?”

There was still no response.

Genesis sighed and steadied her power carbine. She had years of experience navigating through wooded areas. Hiking through the Cone Cove mountains was one of her favorite activities. Sometimes she did it with her father, sometimes she did it herself. Her father even once asked her to do some expedition by herself and she succeeded. But in those cases, she knew where she was and how she got to the point where she was. None of those applied here. And the fact that none of her comrades were here only fanned the flames of anxiety.

“Where is everyone?”

Wherever she looked, she had to train her carbine there as well. The lack of comrades meant that no one covered her blind spots. Anything could easily jump at her when she was not looking and that could spell her end. Though she could return to life, Genesis was unwilling to take a front seat in experiencing whatever murder methods the alien place had. Nothing could guarantee her that they all would cause a quick death.

“Hello?”

Genesis rubbed the grip of her power carbine with her left thumb. Her index tapped on the trigger repeatedly. How did she even get to that place? Was it the fault of her ferry between death and life? It had never failed before so why fail now? She wanted to believe that she was still somewhere in her state. Perhaps the northern wastes of the Artificial Creationist? But even the grass there wasn't purple. The twisting trees seemed like they didn’t occur naturally. Something had forged their helix-like stature. Genesis refused to know what that something was. She thought of emitting a distress signal, but there was no network she could cling to. If there was one person that could hear her plea, it had to be…

“Primus, help me.” Genesis looked up. “Please…”

The leaves above rustled. Genesis immediately turned in shock at the sudden break of silence. Her core raced as she turned her power carbine to the flying objects streaking past. She increased her magnification. There was a flock of reptiles among the leaves. A circular reticle popped up and locked on one of the creatures. Their scales were a mix of blue and chocolate brown. Their majestic crest exhibited a reddish color that glowed under sunlight. Their wings were translucent with a peanut hue. Each of them was half of Genesis’ foot. Again, there were no matches in the catalog of documented specimens. Her neuromodule labeled it an ‘unknown specimen’. Genesis lowered her power-carbine. They seemed to be ambivalent about her presence. Or perhaps scared even, as was the instincts of every creature upon encountering larger beings. Except for cats. Cats didn’t care, as far as Genesis knew.

As Genesis observed the flock fly away, she was oblivious to a silhouette looming over her. Genesis turned around, startled by the expanding shadow on the ground. She did it in time. Her reticle locked on the creature. Another unknown specimen. The poultry was larger than Genesis, about two times her size. Its digits were opened wide as it descended upon her. Genesis switched to full-auto and opened fire. The power carbine made a racket amidst the relatively tranquil forest. The cartridges struck the poultry’s breast. Crimson liquid coursed down from the bullet punctures, defiling the creature’s majestic orange feathers. Yet they didn’t stop the fowl’s descent.

Genesis ceased fire and embraced her power-carbine. The bird landed, and its momentum toppled Genesis’ balance. She grunted as her back hit the ground. The orange bird shrieked while opening its wings wide as if it was asserting dominance over Genesis. The latter frantically kicked away from the bird’s foot. The bird bent over and turned one of its eyes toward Genesis. It seemed to be inspecting her. But Genesis didn’t take any chances. She trained her rifle on its head and slammed the trigger. The hail of cartridges splattered strips of blood and brain matter all over. The bird's head was practically gone when Genesis was done.

That was not the last of the birds, however. One more descended upon Genesis. She aimed her power-carbine towards it and pulled the trigger again. The carbine only responded with a click. Genesis cast it aside and pulled her sidearm. The lack of pause prevented Genesis from making a proper assessment of the threat. She only knew that she had to aim for the head at point blank. Genesis cleared herself of the previous bird and prepared for the next one. She let it get close. The bird pinned her with its foot. Fortunately, the bird shrieked right at her face. Genesis opened fire at its gaping beak. She saw several blood gushes on the back side of the bird's head. The bird withdrew, frantically flapping its wings before collapsing.

Genesis took a deep breath, letting her head fall to the ground. This time she didn't lie on the ground for too long. She immediately rose and reloaded her power-carbine. She aimed it toward the corpses of the birds, anticipating something that might come out of them. She gave it two minutes. Nothing. Genesis calmed herself down.

“By the Primus…” She sighed.

Androids didn't tire easily. But the shock and stress of combatting two alien creatures took a toll on her. Genesis watched as her stress level, indicated on her overlay, slowly went down as her system administered a cooling paste. Her self-optimizer neuromodule repeatedly executed processes to restore composure and balance tunnel vision to optimal level. She returned the empty mag into her pouch. She hadn't even gotten anywhere and one mag was already down. She tried not to think about it. She believed that someone she knew was just around the corner. Genesis brought herself up and marched on.

Genesis eventually cleared out of the forest. She sent gratitude to the Primus that she wasn't attacked any further. Plains of purple stretched to the distance. Cohorts of hills and mountains stood with pride on the horizon. The sight reminded her of Cone Cove. It had been five years since she last saw it. Hiraeth bloomed within her. She lost the claim to the land where her house once stood. The Proxy was now her home. She never returned to Cone Cove ever since she stepped into the Maids’ boot camp. Her yearning brewed sorrow. She blocked her self-optimizer neuromodule. Genesis took a deep breath.

“One day…”

Genesis saw something odd in the distance. She increased her magnification to maximum and scanned the horizon. There was a trend in the distant cloud patterns. They converged on the ground that only the Primus knew where. Genesis’ guess was volcanic activities, but she wasn’t sure. If the volcanic dust was observable from this distance, then one would wonder how enormous the volcano must be. That supervolcano must have hit the record. Yet there hadn’t been one for over five centuries, and there wouldn’t be one for the next two centuries as present-day research suggested. This world wasn’t hers.

The magnificent scenery provided her with thought clarity. If she happened to be transported to another world due to her faulty ferry between life and death, why didn't she just kill herself? She could always return to life. That was the first step in every troubleshooting guideline–system restart. There was no guarantee that she would return to her world. But one missed all the shots they didn't take. Genesis slung her power-carbine and pulled her sidearm. She looked at it for a couple of seconds, wishing to the Primus so that her solution would work. She then pressed its muzzle to her chin and put her finger on the trigger.

A loud bang. Genesis was surprised because she hadn't pulled the trigger yet. The gunshot was heard again repeatedly. A firefight. Genesis recorded the noise and fed the wave profile into her neuromodules to decompose. After correcting for distance, the frequency spectrum came out to be similar to 70.201% for shots coming from Romanov Mk. VI, the handgun she was holding. A Proxy was in combat. In a split second, Genesis engaged her thousand steps. She quickened her pace while the gunshots could still be heard. It didn't take long for them to stop. Her core raced. There were two possibilities, either the gunman neutralized the threat or the other way around. Genesis wished to the Primus that it wasn't the latter.

She tracked the source of the noise from where it was last heard seconds ago. On top of a slight mound, Genesis saw four fowls, the same ones that had attacked her. They were all pecking on something. She magnified her view; it was rather someone. A Proxy. They cowered on the ground as the birds’ beak hammered their body. Genesis decided to pick the birds from this distance. She hoped to scare them off. But then…

“H-help!” The Proxy's cry was followed by yelping as the birds kept on pecking.

Genesis' eyes widened.

“Caitlyn…”

Genesis immediately ditched the idea of scaring them off. That was her best friend pinned down there. She had to rescue her. Caitlyn was less armed. The girl was a tank commander. She was less suited to infantry combat than Genesis.

The Maid ran down the mound and toward the commotion. One of the birds noticed her and shrieked, informing its three friends. Genesis crouched and let loose at the shrieking bird closest to her. She aimed for the head. It took her five well-placed shots to kill it. She turned to the next one and downed it in the same manner. The other two birds lifted themselves and glided toward Genesis. The Maid threw herself to the ground. The birds flew past, their feet barely got her. Genesis quickly flipped while they were just above her. She waited until their heads were visible and opened fire. One collapsed to the ground. The other flapped its wings and increased its altitude. It wasn't long until it disappeared into the sky. There should be ten shots left in the magazine. But Genesis loaded in a new one and returned the nearly exhausted mag to her pouches.

Caitlyn was sprawled on the ground. Genesis rushed toward her.

“Caitlyn!” She called her with haste, clapping her left cheek.

Genesis then pressed her left ear toward Caitlyn's chest. Her auditory peripherals caught a hum of the core. Caitlyn was still alive. Genesis immediately scoured her for any tear and punctures. It was likely that she suffered a couple of trauma considering the birds’ blunt beaks. Genesis had to strip her first to inspect them though. She wouldn't do that, not here, not now.

“Caitlyn.” Genesis clapped her cheek again repeatedly. “Wake up.”

Caitlyn frowned. She looked like she enjoyed lying on the shrubs. Genesis shook her shoulder. That was when her eyes began to open. Two pale blue gems met Genesis’ eyes.

“Genesis?” Caitlyn said, slowly raising her head. “Is that you?”

“Yes…yes, it's me.” Genesis said, sounding elated.

Caitlyn brought herself up and reached for Genesis’ face. The tank commander rubbed the maid's cheek with her thumb.

“Oh, thank the Primus…” Caitlyn thrust herself forward and hugged Genesis. “Thank the Primus it's you.”

“I'm so glad I found you here.”

“Well, I'm so glad you saved me.” Caitlyn put Genesis at half an arm's length. “Again.”

“Friends help each other,” Genesis said excitedly.

Caitlyn chuckled.

The girl's name was Grauwelle Caitlyn, Second Lieutenant. They first met at the Battle of Patih Tread. She was just a First Sergeant back then. They both once belonged to the 36th Proxy Tank Division. Genesis remembered exactly the time when Caitlyn picked and incorporated her into the tank commander's unit. She even allowed Genesis to co-crew her Chord–Protivotankoviyy. Sadly, the tank didn’t make it. The two were separated in the aftermath of that battle. Genesis was delighted when she knew that they would be working together again.

Caitlyn looked around.

“Whatever question you have, I'm sure I don't know the answer,” Genesis said when the girl returned her face.

Caitlyn raised an eyebrow. “What is your name?”

“That is not funny, Caitlyn.”

Caitlyn tilted her head. “I'm sorry.”

“Are you hurt anywhere?” Genesis asked, groping Caitlyn's body. “Are you still in pain?”

“Seeing you has healed me.” Caitlyn smiled.

Genesis gave an indifferent look. “Caitlyn…that was sweet, I appreciate that. But aren't you more concerned about what those birds might have done to you that you are probably not aware of?”

“Like what?”

“I…” Genesis shrugged. “I don't know, that's why I asked you.”

“They just pecked me,” Caitlyn said. “I think I was pretty fortunate that they don't have sharp beaks.”

Genesis heard a shriek. The source was above and behind. She found those birds again, but they didn't attack. There were two of them now. They flew in a circle at a distance. Genesis magnified her view. Their majestic orange crown waggled, coping with the air that streaked through them. Their necks were long. Their bodies resembled a liver. Genesis felt uneasy. The bird’s beak was indeed blunt. Their digits lacked any sort of talons. Genesis brought up a catalog of Aves feet types to her neuralface. The birds’ feet were made for running. They were ostriches with functioning wings. Those creatures lacked the means to harm, but somehow they were incredibly aggressive.

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Caitlyn crouched beside her, seemingly ready to jump into action when needed.

“How many mags do you have?” Genesis asked her.

“Two.”

Tank crews were not armed with power carbines or rifles. Most of them were lucky to be armed with sidearms. Those who were often had only three magazines.

“Didn't get to fire much.” Caitlyn continued. “I got knocked down from behind when I was reloading.”

“With that situational awareness, I'm surprised that you haven't ended up as a pile of ash after eight years in the war.”

Caitly frowned. “Some of my team did.”

“Condolences.”

“The war has ended for them so…” Caitlyn shrugged.

Genesis flattened her lips. No one deserved the suffering brought by war. She had a tinge of gratitude for those who fell. They were freed of that suffering. As their bodies returned to dust, their souls would board the train to the Steppes at the Edge of the World–where eternal peace awaited. She would like to board that train herself. But the world still needed her. The fact that she kept on coming back to life after every death suggested that. The duty was her choice. She wished to purge the plight of war off the face of the earth. The war wouldn’t be over for her until it was over. Genesis liked to think that it was her purpose. The thought wooed her spirit to face her tribulations with heads held high.

“Let's get out of here,” Genesis said.

“Lead the way.” Caitlyn gave her hand.

Genesis grabbed it and pulled her up as she stood. She then looked around. Tracking the movement of the sun allowed Genesis to determine directions. But without a map, there was no way to tell where they were. There was no sign of natives either. It would be a long walk wherever they decided to go. Nonetheless, it was still a better option than staying still. Those flying ostriches could be rallying. Genesis had no intention to use up all her magazines there.

“Caitlyn.”

“Hm?”

Genesis turned to her. “Send a prayer to the Primus, and pick a direction.”

***

Genesis used the converging cloud as a reference for navigation. She calibrated her digital compass so that its north was pointing toward that cloud formation. Caitlyn was close to her. The tank commander's left hand gripped Genesis’ collar from behind. They were almost nut to butt if it wasn't for Genesis’ waist pack. From the corner of Genesis’ optics, she saw how vigilant Caitlyn was. In particular, the girl paid more attention to the skies. Genesis would do the same if she had previously been attacked by four alien birds two times her size while being armed only with a pistol.

Two hours had elapsed since Genesis found Caitlyn. They found themselves among cohorts of half-buried ellipsoids–stones most likely. Their hues were ghastly. Some were wider than the other, some were taller. There was a wide space between them. It reminded her of the time when she visited the Maids Memorial during a rotation. Charlotte–her partner in duty–took her there, a marble garden dedicated to the Maids who fell in battle. Among the fallen women were those fortunate enough to return with their whole bodies intact. Those who left only names numbered just as much. Genesis didn't have the heart to picture what had happened to them, especially the female humans. She could only pity their families. Overall, it was a contemplative little date. It brought her closer to Charlotte. Genesis now felt worried about her. Perhaps her partner was just around the corner of these odd rock formations.

“You know,” Caitlyn said. “I think I could use you humming something right now.”

“I don't feel like giving away our positions. With aggressive creatures like those birds, I don't think so.” Genesis was astonished herself hearing Caitlyn, now a commissioned officer, stating a potentially dangerous request as such given their situation.

“Sorry, I had to take my mind off the fact that we're in another world.”

“Why don't you daydream something good that does just that? Didn't your sister tell you a lot of stories?”

Caitlyn turned her gaze to Genesis. “Birds.”

“Right, okay. Understandable.”

“But to be fair, the landscape here sure feels like I'm living one of Sister Gvozdika's stories,” Caitlyn said, looking around with fascination on her face. It was always a great day for Genesis to see her friend enjoying herself.

“Do you like it?”

“Kinda.”

“Maybe we should hike sometimes,” Genesis said, looking at Caitlyn.

“Why not?” Caitlyn responded as if she was eager for it. “Just bring some people.”

“Attrition?”

“Not the whole task force.”

“I just want it to be between us.” Genesis protested. “And Charlotte.”

“I thought you like hanging around a lot of people. Imagine seven to ten gals around a campfire, singing Narodnaya Sila all night. That would be lovely.”

“Maybe you’re right.” Genesis turned her eyes up. “But who? Do you have anyone in particular to invite?”

“Didn’t think so.”

“Would Alezia like it?”

“Is that even a question?” Caitlyn smiled at her.

“Well…” Genesis shrugged. “Stress relief…”

A loud and proud sleigh drew their attention. Genesis turned her power carbine while Caitlyn aimed her pistol toward the source. A pack of stallions hovered through the air. Their bodies looked like peanuts, while their heads were oval and stretched akin to baguettes. Their brown mane complemented their golden fur. Those stallions had flippers in place for their legs. It appeared like they were not flying, but rather swimming through the air. Genesis assessed their threat level. 11.670% chance to initiate combat. The numbers were based on the stallions’ indifferent reactions toward Genesis and Caitlyn. Their lack of harmful features was unequal to their lack of aggression. The flying ostriches lacked any means to wound but they still attacked regardless.

A herd of cotton balls rolled down the hill to their left. Legs and heads popped out of them as soon as they stopped. The creatures bleated as they stuffed their mouth with the purple grass. Their wools slowly turned purple. Genesis trained her power-carbine toward them, but Caitlyn didn’t follow. Only when Genesis closed her distance did Caitlyn train her handgun. The creatures remained still. At most, they only gave them a weird look before munching their next strands of grasses. It looked like they prioritized their tummy over anything else other than safety.

Genesis lowered her power-carbine. When spring came, the valleys of Cone Cove mountains would always burst with flowers. Villagers would emerge from their houses with smiles as bright as the sun. Shepherds would herd their cattle out of the pen and let them taste the gifts of nature. Those sceneries were hardwired to her memory. Genesis snapped the scenery of the vacant purple plains and overlapped it with the view of her home valleys. The visually pleasing flora, the wind velocity, the temperate climate, and the docile herds before them amounted to a 69.266% matching impression. That was before the war. Leftover ruins had yet to be cleaned. Although nature healed, the lost communities conjured somber. The alien plains made her want to return to pre-war Cone Cove.

“I wish we could keep one,” Caitlyn commented, raising her handgun.

Genesis chuckled. “I’ll make sure Sir Edward hears that.”

Caitlyn gave her a confused look. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“The Chief Research General answers to him.”

“So you are suggesting that you forward my request and they'll find a way to modify a sheep in such a way to resemble the creatures we are seeing?”

“They'll find a way.” Genesis confidently said. “Don't worry.”

Caitlyn looked at Genesis with concern. “I can't believe you're inviting me for corruption.”

“What?” Genesis turned toward Caitlyn. “No!?”

“Yes, you are.”

“You just don't know how benevolent Sir Edward was when it comes to me.”

Caitlyn placed her right hand on her waist. “You're exploiting the kindness of others for your interest at the expense of the people. How many scientists Sir Edward would withdraw to fill your request, scientists who had been otherwise researching to improve people's lives? What's that if not corruption?”

“Well…okay I guess.” Genesis shrugged.

“Don't be burdened by favors you owe me. There's none.” Caitlyn patted her shoulder. “I think I owe you something instead.”

Genesis smiled. She responded by slapping Caitlyn’s thigh.

“Paid.” Genesis chuckled.

“Are you sure about that?” Caitlyn replied, seemingly amused by Genesis’ behavior.

Genesis smirked. “What do you think I should ask from you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh uh…” Genesis raised her fingers, pretending to calculate something. “You know…I could use thirty Primes for the act of saving you. But since you're my friend, I can do half of that.”

“Okay, I get it now.”

Genesis laughed. Both of them had nothing to trade. They just came into this world with nothing other than the standard equipment for their respective role. Genesis then gave a hearty look to her friend. Four months ago when they first met, she always thought of Caitlyn as aloof. The girl would often appear downcast with thoughts ever so detached from reality. She bridged herself from the others because she saw herself to be unworthy. Genesis saw how she gradually crossed that bridge since they became friends. She liked to think that she had helped her cross that bridge. Fast forward to the present time, Caitlyn was now as expressive as her. Genesis couldn't be happier seeing that she finally forsaken her seclusion.

When the sun set, the drizzling ashes intensified into a light ash rain. Still, they stopped because Genesis had to. Genesis’ functionalities grew tired every two days. Battery-tins, no matter how much, only extended that by a day. After that, she needed to calibrate. It was better than an average human but still way worse for an Android standard. Even Caitlyn, literally the cheapest Android version from present-day manufacture, could last a week on normal occasions before finally requiring calibration to recharge her power core. They had also been walking for hours without seeing any sign of civilization. It was pretty stressful to think of the possibility that they were there on their own with no means of returning home. The stress further raised the incentive for calibration.

They both set up a camp using whatever wooden sticks they could find. Fortunately, they stumbled upon trees with leaves about half their size. Their temporary shelter was a slanted rectangular frame of wooden sticks covered with those leaves. A couple of strands of vines here and there kept the frame together. They also crafted some sort of wooden pegs to fix it in place.

Genesis failed to see herself dozing soon despite needing it. She was crumpled beneath the oblong leaf that also formed the roof above her. Genesis had made sure that nothing settled there when she cut it from the fleshy trees across. That didn’t stop her from lifting and checking her organic blanket every ten seconds. Her body alone could adjust to the cold of night, which was nothing compared to cold nights in Artificial Creationist. She wanted to slightly conceal herself in an attempt to fool the aggressive creatures of the biome. A sense of security in an alien world was unobtainable within a day. Especially one where there was almost no sign of civilizations.

Caitlyn sat just in front of the shelter, keeping watch. Her legs were curled close while her arms embraced them. They both had night-vision filters. Nothing could sneak up on them unless they were both in calibration. Caitlyn’s pale blue eyes glowed as she diligently scoured the environment; a display of her true prowess as a tank commander. It was essential if she wished to not return home in a soup can. Genesis felt bad about how Caitlyn had to watch over her. Caitlyn once allowed Genesis to sleep in her quarter. Genesis could make do with that because they knew they were inside their base. This time, they were somewhere they did not know of. Genesis was hesitant because that would mean leaving Caitlyn all alone watching the premises. She feared that the tank commander might feed her old misery hole when she wasn’t around.

“Caitlyn.”

Caitlyn looked at Genesis. “Yes?”

Genesis moved slightly back and clapped on the patch of half-body leaves just before her. She wanted Caitlyn to lie there too so Genesis could watch over her.

“Uh…okay.” Despite saying it, Caitlyn remained in her position and continued with her watch.

Genesis frowned. She cast the leaf blanket gently to her back. She slowly crept toward the tank commander, trying to be as quiet as possible. When she was at half an arm's length she sprung and grabbed Caitlyn’s neck with her arms.

“Ack!” Caitlyn shouted. But she didn't resist when Genesis pulled her to the ground. “W-what are you doing!?” Caitlyn glanced at Genesis.

“Hush…”

“G-Genesis!” Caitlyn whispered as Genesis continued to drag her into the shack.

Genesis picked the leaf behind her and put it on top of them. She made sure that its moist mosaic texture covered a portion of their bodies. Genesis settled down after stacking her right leg on top of Caitlyn's.

“There we go.” Genesis took a deep breath. The warm wisp of air reflected on Caitlyn's nape.

“Genesis, please explain this.”

“You're my bolster.”

“Okay, but…w-why?”

Genesis didn't want to leave Caitlyn by herself.

“We're friends, aren't we?” Genesis said. Her leg rubbed on Caitlyn's. “Friends have to stick together. Besides, you're still able to stay on the watch right?”

“First problem, this posture raised the chance of me calibrating, which would then leave no one to guard us,” Caitlyn said. “Second, don't you think this position is a bit…inappropriate?”

“Caitlyn?”

“What?”

“Are you…into women?”

“Are you serious!? No.”

“Then you should have no problem with this position.” Genesis stroked Caitlyn’s arm. “Also you don't have to worry about calibrating. With this position, nothing would get us without alarming me.”

Caitlyn was silent for a while. “I think you're right.”

Genesis wished to pick up a boy before the war ended. She had a lot of admirers. A fair-skinned blonde Maid with a pair of aquatic eyes who loved to sing for the army was a wet dream for a lot of Proxies. Not to mention that she possessed a bust waist hip that blessed her with an hourglass body. She hadn't found a proper match so far. She wanted him to be just right for her. Genesis, however, had yet to define what was ‘right’. That was the reason she had difficulties finding one despite the one hundred lascivious messages she received through her inbox every month. She understood this but she was unmotivated to act. She was in no rush. A male partner would turn all her love toward him like atoms in a magnetized iron. She wanted to give as much love as possible to her friends while she still could. For now, Genesis was content with locking Caitlyn against her. She imagined that Caitlyn was a boy.

“Genesis,” Caitlyn called her.

“Hm?”

“Could you…” Caitlyn stuttered “Loosen your arms grip on my neck, please? Just for a moment.”

“You'll sit back up again.”

“I promise I won't.”

Genesis said nothing when she let Caitlyn's neck go. The tank commander indeed went nowhere. She just flipped her body so that she was facing Genesis. Her pale blue eyes had never been this close. Caitlyn laid her left arm over Genesis’ waist and tucked her left leg in between the Maid’s.

“There,” Caitlyn said. “You may lock me again now.”

Genesis did what she said. “What are you doing though?”

“So that I don't lose sight of you.”

Genesis yawned. She withdrew one of her arms to cover her mouth. “You're so kind, Caitlyn.”

“Isn't it merely a reflection of yours?” Caitlyn smiled.

“I don't know…you tell me.”

Genesis found solace in the look that Caitlyn gave. She had no fear to admit that she missed her. Patih Tread might be lost. In her memory, it was a victory. The whole month she had spent there wasn't in vain. She found a new friend. They had been apart for four months since that battle. Genesis had been relocated two times, saw plenty of colleagues' bled, distributed hundreds of supplies, suffered a couple of wounds herself, died once, and was finally promoted to Maid Sergeant. She had always wondered what Caitlyn was doing during those times. It turned out she was in Praefectus Incus, the officer school. There was no telling how they became friends in just about a week. Genesis’ hope of seeing Caitlyn again had never wavered. Having her best friend in her arms for the second time was perhaps the best thing the Primus had granted her. She only wished that Charlotte was there too so they could huddle together.

Caitlyn smiled. “Have you ever done this with Charlotte before?”

“Done what?”

“This position.”

“Once.”

“She must have liked it.”

“Unlike you, I didn't have to do anything.”

Caitlyn chuckled. “Why am I not surprised?”

Caitlyn patted the maid’s waist. Genesis’ neuralface flashed with a notification of low core energy. She began to close her eyes, shutting down her vision peripherals. Her processor initiated the self-calibration executable. A log panel on her neuralface popped up, tracking every process run by her system. Her core activity level fell to ‘calibrate’. Motor-nerves were shutting down. All active neuromodules and moodnodes were terminated. Genesis slowly lost the feel of her limbs. Her thoughts were absent and her neuralface withdrew. The program only left her auditory and tactile peripherals active. In the pitch black, the Maid heard a couple of words.

“Sweet dreams, Genesis…”